Eyes of Pain
by ShinobiSam
Summary: What would've happened if Mizuki actually acted somewhat like the chunin he was? What changes would it cause? And where on earth do Kabuto, Tayuya, two Caged Bird Seals and Team 7 figure in all of this?
1. Chapter 1

**Eyes of Pain**

by ShinobiSam

**Premise:** What would've happened if Mizuki actually acted somewhat like the chunin he was? What changes would it cause? And where on earth do Ebisu, the Rinnegan, two Caged Bird Seals and Team 7 figure in all of this?

**Author's notes: **This chapter is simply a prologue (teaser? introduction?) for the rest of the story.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki had his eyes on a goal.

He _had _to become a genin this time.

He _had _to.

The future Hokage _couldn't_ be held back from becoming a genin yet again. Hey, didn't anybody know that being able to make _some stupid clones_ was useless to an awesome Hokage? To be Hokage you had to know kickass jutsu and wicked strong techniques, not some shit like _clones_.

And yet, that jerk Iruka-sensei, he _had_ to fail him, didn't he? And why? Because he _couldn't create some stupid clones_!

He was gonna get a prank. A _big one_. He was gonna think of it for a long time, plan carefully, and the prank would be so awesome that Iruka wouldn't _dare_ to mess with the great Naruto Uzumaki again. And when he became Hokage, he was gonna…

Lost in thought about what he was going to do in the future, Naruto wasn't concentrating on where he was going. Thus, it was no surprise that he managed to loose his footing on a branch of a tree, and slipped.

And boy, _did_ he fall hard.

'Well, crap…' was all he could think, landing hard on his side. 'Heh….good thing I hadn't been higher, otherwise…'

Never mind! He was Naruto Uzumaki, and this little fall wasn't gonna stop him. He would go somewhere clear of trees, and learn the jutsu he had to master so that he could pass.

So, he quickly resumed his travail, trying to get to his goal quickly…

Thank Kami; Mizuki-sensei had told him about this better way of passing, otherwise he'd have had to stay back in that boring Academy for another session. The next Hokage couldn't stay back at that damn Academy for that long, could he…?

Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings yet again and nearly slipped…

Ehh…..he really had to concentrate on where he was going, or he was really gonna get hurt, damn it!

Moving forward quickly, Naruto finally managed to find an awesome spot for practicing. Mizuki-sensei had said he'd find him after two hours or so, so he'd better hurry, and then he'd be closer to becoming Hokage...

Opening the huge scroll quickly, Naruto looked at the first justu given there, and swore in anger, "This sucks! I should have some new cool jutsus, and I gotta do clones….._clones_?"

But, he soon said, "Ah well, I gotta do this to become an awesome ninja, and I'll do it, because I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm never gonna give up!"

Happy with that, Naruto immediately started doing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, whatever the hell it was…

Or more correctly, started _trying_ to do the Shadow Clone jutsu…

* * *

**(Location: Outside the Hokage Tower)**

Rushing towards the forest in which he'd told the brat to go, Mizuki barely concealed a malicious smirk.

That brat had to be one of the most gullible persons in all of the Konoha, and was perfect for his goal. Today had been the perfect day to put his plan in motion.

That brat, Naruto Uzumaki, had been failed yet again in the Academy, due to his inability to form _two measly clones_. Honestly, it was pathetic.

That boy screamed at the top of his voice that he was going to be the next Hokage.

Yes, and Iruka was a cross-dresser who enjoyed roaming in the streets of Konoha in the dead of the night.

He had absolutely no chance of becoming a proper shinobi, let alone a Hokage.

But really, if there was even a glimmer of hope that he'd become a shinobi, he was going to remove that too, wasn't he?

People in Konoha already had a deep-seated animosity towards that brat. After all, he held one of the village's worst enemies in him. That mostly expressed itself in the form of neglect, dislike, disapproval, discomfort and things like that. All in all, it was mostly passive opposition.

But now, that situation was changing.

The opening salvos had already been fired.

Incidentally, Naruto had been the one to do so.

Naruto already had a limitation in the form of a largely negative reputation. When you combined that with his hyperactive personality, his extremely limited vocabulary, his over-cheerful disposition, his lack of seriousness, and to a certain extent, his hideous jumpsuit, it was hard to take him seriously at all. His continuing pranks were viewed as an inconvenience and more proof as lack of his maturity and intelligence.

How true.

And now, when many ninjas and the Hokage knew that he'd stolen the Forbidden Scroll, his reputation would take another nosedive. That is, if he wasn't taken prisoner, or as Mizuki hoped, _killed_.

Anyways, that brat had swallowed the lie that he had been fed, and had run off to the Hokage's Tower to grab the Forbidden Scroll.

Idiot.

If it were not the fact that Mizuki had managed to get most of the ninjas out of the way (through one excuse, reason, pretense or the other) before Naruto had gotten in.

That brat might've been able to pull of some pranks, but infiltrating the Hokage Tower was way out of his league. He'd have been taken to the Hokage before he could say 'scroll'.

But, the most important thing was, his plan had worked, and that brat had managed to take away that Forbidden Scroll, and was probably trying to learn one of the jutsus from that scroll.

Hmm…maybe that brat would've died by the time he reached there?

He could always hope.

Focusing back on his surroundings, he increased his speed a bit, and went in even deeper the forest.

That brat had managed to do _something_ properly.

It was almost too good to be true.

Well, it _was_ too good to be true. And that was because Iruka Umino, the other instructor of Naruto's class at the Academy, was _already_ searching for Naruto inside the forest.

It was the sort of thing which happened due to sheer luck.

And also because the Hokage had designated the ninjas at hand specific places which they had to scout for Naruto.

The Forbidden Scroll being stolen was serious business and the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen had ninjas at Naruto's apartment, the Academy, training grounds, and any place where he thought Naruto could hide.

That of course, included the forest.

In which Iruka had been assigned to search for Naruto.

It was _dumb luck_, really. Mizuki hadn't even been there, trying to get to Naruto quickly.

However, rather than luck, it was the fact that Mizuki had a head start on Iruka while trying to find Naruto, due to which Mizuki found Naruto first.

The predator had found the _prey_.

* * *

**(Location: Unknown location in the Forest)**

A tired and weary Naruto was lying down on his face on the forest floor, savoring the taste of success.

_He did it!_

Ehh…nothing else could have happened, could it? He was the _most_ cool ninja in all of Konoha, and nothing could've come in his way!

Something like this could have not stopped the future Hokage, the _most_ kickass ninja ever!

And now, Sakura-chan would know how awesome he was! He had learnt this Shadow Clone thingy, and that when he couldn't do those damned clones at all!

Hell yeah! Now, he even knew something that idiot Sasuke didn't know! Take that, asshole!

Quite happy with what he'd done, Naruto got up, even though he was feeling tired due to all that training, and grabbed the scroll, getting ready to get to Mizuki-sensei and become a genin!

However, he was brought up short by the feeling of something grazing his arm, and he suddenly doubled over in pain.

He had been attacked with a kunai, which had grazed his arm and now lay on the ground.

Why the bloody _hell_ was someone throwing kunai at him anyway?

Naruto, with all the intuition of a rampaging monkey, started looking around, trying to find the man who'd done this.

**_He really should've run the hell away from there._**

Mizuki was going to take that scroll from the damn brat, and hopefully, give him one painful death.

Throwing another kunai at Naruto, Mizuki jumped _into_ the ground.

For all his alertness, Naruto still managed to get himself cut by the second kunai.

**_He really should've run the hell away from there._**

Naruto didn't know who was throwing those damned kunai, but when he found that out, that shithead was gonna get a good ass-kicking.

Mizuki wasn't going to give him any opportunity to do that.

Thanks to the _Underground Fish Projection Technique_ (due to which Mizuki had taken to the ground like a fish took to water), Mizuki managed to get pretty close to Naruto.

And he took a shot at Naruto's chest, near his heart. With a kunai.

Naruto, with his ungainly gait and lax reflexes, couldn't do much.

Pain exploded in his chest.

At least, the blow wouldn't kill him immediately.

Mizuki didn't care. With a smirk on his face, he got out of the ground, ending his technique. That brat was dying anyways, why waste more time?

Employing all the speed that he could muster, he ran towards the Forbidden Scroll, quickly grabbed it, and jumped on the tree nearest to him.

Then, he got away from there as fast as he could, with his hair whipping back from the wind, his heart pumping with adrenaline, and his eyes full of the dreams of power, which were going to become truth very, very soon.

And the demon brat? Heh…that pathetic waste of space was going to die very soon. Good riddance.

* * *

Back in the clearing, Naruto would've been fuming.

That is, if he didn't have a _bloody kunai_ in his chest.

He tried moving, trying his best to ignore the biting pain in his chest.

He tried with all his might, not caring for anything else. Just like he'd done all his life.

He couldn't lie down here, and let his blood flow out of his body. He'd die. And he _couldn't die_.

He kept trying to get his body to move, but the pain that racked his body refused to let anything of that sort happen.

The jarring pain was growing, growing and growing more.

It was spreading throughout his body. It was coursing like blood, reaching everywhere in his body.

And pain soon brought forward his equally frightening counterpart, fear. It was quite powerful, pain feeding on the fear, fear feeding on the pain, attacking Naruto in tandem.

The pain wouldn't stop, would it?

It was never gonna stop.

It would simply eat him up, and kill him.

The combination of pain and fear was slowly clawing away at his will, the indomitable will of Naruto Uzumaki. Clawing and biting and scratching and _hurting_ and attacking at his determination, his source of strength.

Death, it seemed, was inevitable.

He was gonna die _here_?

He was gonna die in a _damn forest clearing_?

He was gonna die from a _mere kunai_?

He was gonna die because of _Mizuki-sensei_?

He was gonna die before he kicked Sasuke-teme's ass?

He was gonna die before he made Sakura-chan fall in love with him?

He was gonna die before _everyone acknowledged him_?

He was gonna die before becoming _HOKAGE_?

**_He really should've run the hell away from there._**

He was gonna die. Plain and simple.

And that made him very, very angry.

He'd tried so hard, and he was gonna be killed by a freaking teacher with an ambition?

His anger was a fire spreading from his belly, throughout his body. His anger rose, and kept rising, until it was like the waves of the sea, pounding the shore of his mind ruthlessly, continuously. Breaking down his control, his rationale, and replacing them with hateful, primal instincts.

And soon enough, his anger exploded, filling every orifice of his mind, consuming all other thoughts, breaking down all other concerns and boundaries.

That bastard Mizuki had run towards the Forbidden Scroll, without looking back, without caring. As though he was _no longer of any concern _to him! As if _he didn't exist_! As if his life would be _better without Naruto_!

His anger fueling his desire, Naruto instinctively grasped the kunai embedded in his chest, and _pulled it out_.

Hell, it hurt like a bitch.

But Naruto didn't care.

Mizuki was gonna pay, and that was all that frickin' mattered. That bastard was gonna be _screaming in pain_ when Naruto was done with him!

But first, he had to catch that bastard.

With an animalistic growl, Naruto ran and jumped on the branches of a nearby tree, landing on all fours.

It didn't matter that he had a bloody hole in his chest. _It would heal._

It didn't matter that he was just an Academy student, and Mizuki was a chunin. _It didn't matter._

It didn't matter that he should be calling someone instead of running after Mizuki. _It wasn't possible._

It didn't matter that he had been beaten by Mizuki just a few seconds ago. _It would be different this time._

All that mattered was that he'd been attacked. And he was gonna take his revenge. _It was that simple._

He was gonna shred Mizuki into _pieces_.

Grinning viciously, Naruto sped away.

Pity he didn't see Iruka, who had just landed in the clearing while he had been jumping from tree to tree.

Though, Iruka wasn't that blind.

He'd seen Naruto.

He'd seen the blood which had dropped from the wound on the ground.

He'd seen the red chakra cloak which had enveloped the blond boy.

He'd _felt_ the anger rolling off from the boy.

_This wasn't good at all._

One of Konoha's biggest nightmares had awoken.

And by the looks of it, it wasn't all that happy.

The Forbidden Scroll was missing too.

_Shit._

Naruto hadn't seen Iruka.

He was still racing ahead, his new-found source of power making him all that faster.

His eyes glimmered with the prospect of vengeance. His mouth watered with the desire of ripping apart Mizuki. He grinned at the prospect of savoring the blood that Mizuki would spill.

Charged up with these thoughts, Naruto put on a burst of speed, using some of that _endless_ power, whatever it was.

Mizuki, on the other hand, wasn't feeling all that invigorated.

His plan had been going perfectly, without the slightest hitch.

He'd fooled everyone into thinking that the brat had stolen the scroll.

He'd taken the scroll from him.

He'd left the brat to die, after sticking a fucking kunai in his chest.

So, why the blazes did the Nine-Tails' chakra suddenly engulf him, and everything around him?

The shock that had coursed through him had been enough to make him loose his footing on a tree branch, and land awkwardly on the ground.

Shouldn't that bastard Fox have died when that brat died?

_Fuck._

_It was still alive._

The loathing and menace that chakra had was enough to make less powerful people cower in fear.

The Nine-Tails' attack had left an incredible imprint on the minds of the people due to the emotions it engulfed Konoha with.

The swishing tails and incredible power of the Fox hadn't affected the common Konoha citizen as much as the feelings of despair and hopelessness it had brought with itself.

The Fox radiated utter hatred, loathing and contempt. Its emotions' influence was so great that most people could do nothing more than hiding somewhere and praying that they were spared.

It was horrible. People were consumed with despair and hopelessness. They were overawed by the sheer power of the Nine-Tails' chakra, and the hatred it brought.

It made them feel _weak_.

That was partly why Naruto was ostracized so much by many people in Konoha.

Naruto was a living reminder of their _weakness_.

And no one likes being reminded that they're weak.

So was the case with Mizuki.

He was shivering, ever so slightly. That rotten feeling was overpowering him, and he was one of those who didn't like to be reminded of their helplessness.

**_Damn it to hell!_**

He couldn't act like a fucking coward here. He was a chunin, a shinobi!

This wasn't even the fucking Nine-Tailed Demon Fox! It was Naruto Uzumaki, the son of a bitch!

This wasn't the time to be scared. It was the time to get the hell out of here!

Trying to gather his wits about him, Mizuki quickly grabbed the scroll, got up, and prepared to get the fuck out of there.

Well, all he managed to do was to notice a smirking Naruto on one the branches of a nearby tree.

Who had red chakra pouring from him, ready to strike with his _claws_.

**_Damn it to hell!_**

**_

* * *

_**

_**Author's Notes: **Hola. I've done the first chapter of the rewrite of 'The Path of Destiny', though I've changed the title. So, Naruto's much more like his canon counterpart at this point of time, and Mizuki's actually behaving somewhat like a chunin. More changes will come soon. And yeah, if you don't like the lack of paragraphs in this chapter or something, it's all MS Word's fault._

_The second chapter should be out by the end of the month._

_Yeah, I'm very lazy. Why do you ask? I'd be very grateful if you could press the review button rather than asking such important and unanswerable questions._

_**RikudouSennin:** Thanks for the review, the first one of this fic too. Regarding the one-liners: I will try my best to maintain a balance between one-liners and large paragraphs. While writing this chapter, I simply went with the flow of my thoughts, and thus ended up with this. Needless to say, I'll try to be more careful the next time._


	2. Chapter 2

**Eyes of Pain**

by ShinobiSam

**Premise:** What would've happened if Mizuki actually acted somewhat like the chunin he was? What changes would it cause? And where on earth do Ebisu, the Rinnegan, two Caged Bird Seals (and not Team 7!) figure in all of this?

**Author's notes: **I'm not really happy with this one.

* * *

_Mizuki was fucked._

And he knew it.

After all, it looked as if the brat had been taken over by the thrice-damned Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Heh….though that was to be expected. What chance would a measly brat like him have in front of the greatest enemy to strike Konoha?

No, it wasn't fucking Naruto. _At all_. That brat couldn't exude…

…such _malice_

…such _loathing_

…such _contempt_

…such _bloodlust_

…such _anger_

…such _hatred_.

That brat was an idiot, a cheerful dunderhead at best and a disruptive influence at worst.

No. This was _definitely_ not Naruto.

…_So, what was to be done now?_

Stay here, deal with the demon, and then get away?

No chance in hell.

He wasn't going to bloody risk it. He didn't know what the Fox was capable of. Naruto Uzumaki was a pushover. However, the changes that the frickin' Fox might've brought with itself were unknown. He had already seen the elongated nails, deepened whisker marks and the chakra shroud. If this was any indication, his physical abilities could have been augmented.

Anyways, Naruto already _had_ some stamina, was a prankster and never gave up.

The fact that _it_ was here now was proof enough, and a fat load of good it did.

If he stayed here, he'd have to beat Naruto enough that he couldn't get up. Or better, he would die.

_It was easy._

But, he didn't know how much that _bastard Fox_ could take.

It had better endurance than a normal human, which was clear by the fact that he'd managed to get till here and was standing there. Or maybe it could heal wounds faster?

He could beat it down. But could he beat it down _enough, and quickly?_

And if his reflexes and physical movements had gotten better, it would be a whole new problem.

And he didn't even know what that chakra could do.

He didn't know how the Fox would fight _in the guise of a human_.

He didn't know what _abilities_ it had in this form, or what its _powers_ were.

He may be overestimating the Fox, but better paranoid than overconfident and dead.

Bottomline? He didn't know much about his shitty enemy.

_And he wasn't going to fight with something he didn't know about, thank you very much_.

Not to mention the fact that those bloody ANBU squads could meet him if he stayed here for long. For all he knew, the fool of a Hokage himself was coming here, flanked by a chakra sensor!

_Running the fuck away it was._

_

* * *

_

Pity.

Iruka couldn't run _the fuck_ away.

The situation was probably as bad as it could get.

If it went from bad to worse…

_He was fucked._

And it wouldn't be only him.

It would be Konoha. Every single man, woman and child of Konoha would be dead.

Unless…he could do something right here, right now.

Or maybe he was over-reacting to the situation?

What would the Hokage say?

What if this was all wrong?

Maybe Naruto was still in control?

Maybe it was just temporary?

…_FUCK!_

What was he doing? Having second thoughts when the time to do something was _now_?

No. That was wrong.

Konoha wouldn't be sacrificed for a man's momentary indecision.

Even he could see that this wasn't Naruto.

That cheerful idiot was…worlds apart from this…_monster._

The time to act was now .The place to act was here. The man to act had to be _him_.

OK.

Try to incapacitate. If attacks, kill it?

Clear and simple. The basic hallmarks of a good plan.

But, could he do it?

No… no!

Yes…he had to!

No…this is wrong.

Yes…this has to be done!

…_FUCK IT! THIS HAD TO BE DONE NOW!_

And it would be done now.

Iruka jumped into the fray, grabbing a kunai and some smoke bombs from his pouch.

This was the end.

Maybe for the Kyuubi.

Maybe for Konoha.

And he was going to try everything to make sure that it was Kyuubi's end.

* * *

_FUCK IT TO HELL!_

Running the fuck away from a rampaging monster was hard enough!

He did NOT want to deal with Iruka Umino, the soft-hearted bastard, right now!

He had to get somewhere.

And fast.

Preparing to put the _Underground Fish Projection Technique_ to use, he was about to go underground.

But he didn't.

What he had noticed merited some form of reaction. Staying rooted to a particular spot wasn't the best reaction, but it was all Mizuki did.

Iruka was running towards the Kyuubi. With a kunai.

Hell…this was unexpected. He'd expected to be attacked straightaway. He didn't think he'd be looking at Iruka run towards Naruto; eyes alight with fear and also, determination.

Actually, he'd simply tried to read the Chunin's body language. He couldn't see things like 'fear' and 'determination' in someone's bloody eye!

Iruka, being an open, friendly person, never concentrated on conditioning his body language according to his surroundings. It wasn't needed near a bunch of thick kids anyway, as most of them didn't know about reading body language, except for the odd prodigy, and the last year students.

Here? Conditioning his body language had to be the farthest thing on his mind.

Wildly running towards someone with shaking hands, almost-stumbling feet and a grim-looking face isn't the most awe-inspiring picture.

So, what _was_ it? Had Iruka recognized the situation partly and was rushing towards Naruto due to his judgment being clouded by fear for his student, the kunai being a prepared weapon against any attacker, such as Mizuki?

No, not with that chakra shroud, teeth and claws. Iruka wasn't that stupid. At the least, he should've been more wary?

Had Iruka realized that it was the Kyuubi and was going to attack it, obviously thinking that his comrade Mizuki would back him up?

Or was it that Iruka had somehow found about his treachery, and this was some kind of feint (genjutsu or clone), designed to attract attention and allow Iruka to get a chance to attack?

Or was it Iruka trying to get the Kyuubi to the Hokage (where he would be dealt with), and leaving other ninja to deal with Mizuki?

Bloody hell, what the flying fuck was he doing?

Testing the waters, Mizuki grabbed a kunai, and started circling Naruto.

Best thing he could do.

If Iruka knew Mizuki's truth, he would simply knock out Naruto (or something like that), and get ready to face him. For that eventuality, he already had picked out an object for a quick replacement, and was ready for Iruka's challenge.

If Iruka thought Naruto was a threat and was going in for the kill, he'd probably consider Mizuki as a back-up, and his movements _could_ pass of as backing up someone.

Whatever the case might be, Iruka would need to be dealt with. He needed to get out of here, and Iruka would definitely not allow that.

Though, Mizuki could've attacked Iruka anyways, but that might've resulted in two foes, and anyways, Iruka could turn out to be a temporary ally.

So, it was the best thing he could do.

* * *

Iruka saw Mizuki from the corner of his eye, and simply classified him as an 'ally'.

Truly, being paranoid may not always be bad.

All Naruto had to decide was how he was gonna hurt Mizuki and make him fuckin' scream.

He was about to go in charging with all the intellect of a rampaging berserker, but was stopped by the sudden appearance of Iruka. For a moment, he was confused.

For a fleeting moment, that is.

Then, as Iruka neared him, Naruto didn't even take that much time to decide that Iruka was on Mizuki's side, and that made him bloody meat.

But the nagging shadow of doubt was cast on the crescendo of anger and bloodlust.

Why would Iruka do that? Iruka was good, right?

He shouldn't attack him, right?

Damn wrong.

Iruka indeed attacked him. With the blunt head of the kunai, but such a technicality would probably not be registered by the normal Naruto, leave alone the Kyuubi-influenced one.

All it registered was: Being attacked. Enemy attacking. Danger.

Conscious thought and reasonable application were thrown away in the face of another wave of Kyuubi's chakra, destroying any chances of dodging, blocking or anything else.

You didn't dodge foes. You hurt'em.

And Kyuubi hurt'em bad.

Letting loose a wave of chakra, Kyuubi used Iruka's momentary surprise, flinging a wild claw at his legs, concentrating its chakra in its claws, by instinct, a welcome one. Iruka didn't loose his footing, but stumbling was perhaps, inevitable. Due to both, the momentum of the attack, as well as the fact that he could feel the searing pain caused by the claws embedded in his leg. Trying to retain his bearings, Iruka quickly looked for something which could be useful for a replacement jutsu.

The log used for the replacement was torn apart by another chakra-claw.

Mizuki promptly responded. Attacking before the pieces of the log had even hit the ground, Mizuki grabbed Kyuubi's attention, allowing Iruka to get a breather as well. He was more mentally prepared for combat than Iruka was, so rather than a melee charge, he used a shower of shurikens as a decoy, trying to get in a sneak attack.

The aim of the shurikens was good enough to make Kyuubi jump on another tree branch, and Mizuki promptly aimed some more shurikens at its chest.

The Kyuubi dodged that one too, using another chakra wave to partially deflect the shurikens, as well as some body reflexes to allow it to navigate through the shurikens without suffering any damage.

The beauty and tragedy of ninja combat was that it was a battle of minds as much as it was of the body.

The Kyuubi was well-endowed in bodily powers, as well as chakra reserves. However, it could be said that being trapped in Naruto's body had at least _partially_ sapped whatever instinctual ability (particularly with bodily movements) it had.

After hearing those shurikens getting embedded in the tree behind it, the Kyuubi ignored them as being of no further consequence. Therefore, it was unprepared for the bleeding Iruka using one of them as a replacement, and got at the place where Kyuubi was at its weakest. Aiming to incapacitate the beast, and killing it once he managed to get suitable traction, Iruka plunged his kunai in the lower part of the Kyuubi's left groin.

Mizuki, hanging back after doing his part, realized the simple fact that he had indeed over-estimated the Kyuubi, using its visual impressiveness as proof of its ability, and that wasn't what he should be doing.

The next time he did that, death was a much more probable end.

But, he wouldn't make that mistake the next time. Everything red isn't blood, and he'd remember that at all times.

But now, he had to deal with Iruka; and the best time to do that was _now_.

Though, he didn't exactly need to kill him, didn't he? An angry fighter is a sloppy fighter, and frankly speaking, the Kyuubi was already pretty sloppy. Maybe his sloppiness would result in Iruka's very messy end, driving the final nail in Naruto's coffin?

Heh. Sure it could.

While Iruka was trying to get to stable ground and finish what he started, Mizuki used the versatile _Underground Fish Projection Technique_ to get to a proper location, so that the hammer could be struck when the iron was hot.

* * *

Kyuubi was enraged. And someone was gonna face _HELL_!

_It should NOT be struck by stupid monkeys!_

_It should NOT have problems in facing two bloody insects!_

_It should NOT be feeling weak against anyone!_

_And above all, IT SHOULD NOT BE STUCK IN SOME FUCKIN' BRAT'S BODY!_

Life's a bitch.

And it can't even be a dog and fuck it!

But it _was_ going to fuck up these monkeys, and how!

But before it could relish their screams, it had to get them beaten up. Now that's an enjoyable activity…he was gonna make their blood _curdle_, their voices _crack_, their breath _stop_, their eyes _hurt_, their mouth silently _scream_, their hair stand on end, and their minds _**beg for hell**_ rather than what was being done to them!

It was

Though for that, it'd have to beat'em up first.

And that was gonna be good.

That pony tailed fool attacked him first. Letting loose a very, very minor fraction of its incredible chakra reserves, the Kyuubi dodged his attack; even Naruto's untrained, untested muscles could respond very fast with this magnificent power!

The fool was already bleeding. Heh…the mindless shithead was gonna be the first to die.

Kyuubi ran towards Iruka, having slowed himself down, but not so much that that fool could realize what was happening. The retard hung back a bit, and prepared himself for a last-moment stab.

Bloody fool. Very bloody.

Using a punch towards that monkey's head as a feint, Kyuubi put his chakra in his right foot, preparing to cripple the fool with a kick. Aiming at the already injured foot, with his full speed, Kyuubi prepared to snatch victory from his enemies.

The result was the kind of so-so thing that fucking messes everything up. Stalemate.

He managed to hit that foot, but only partially, and not where he would've wanted, i.e. slightly above the wound. That fool also dodged somewhat, making the resulting wound superficial.

Never mind.

Mizuki was a man of ends over means.

* * *

But let's be honest, all ninjas were men of ends over means. However, every ninja had a limit till which they could sacrifice their morality in the face of success and money. That limit was usually very, very low could even vary depending on circumstances (and also, money!). You could delude yourself into giving the trade of the ninja a sheath of morality, but when you realized the depraved and defunct morality of most ninjas, that all would hinder you.

In this situation, Mizuki had no use for morals. All he had use for was anything that would help him survive and get to Orochimaru.

So now, he was going to try out anything and anything for achieving what he wanted.

If that involved sticking a kunai in Iruka's wound, driving it in, and giving him a blow with the blunt end of the kunai, so be it.

Though making sure that the Kyuubi didn't see him was a bother.

Getting to a safe position (how much he _loved_ the _Underground Fish Projection Technique_!), he waited for the inevitable carnage.

Though he had to admit, Iruka had some semblance of stamina. After being struck twice in the same wound and being smashed with a blunt kunai, that fool was getting back to his fucking feet. Of course, it was useless, as with a mangled leg, even a weak Kyuubi could slaughter him. Heh….judging by the look on its face, he was already salivating at the prospect.

Mizuki did have to be somewhat surprised how it all had fallen into place. He had two foes to deal with: a furious Kyuubi and Iruka. It could've been a disaster for him, had the two realized the actual gravity of the situation, but all that had gone out of the water with an incredibly simple strategy, which had worked perfectly, and some part of luck.

Iruka was already against Kyuubi, and making him cannon fodder for it should give him enough opportunity to quickly retrieve the Forbidden Scroll and put some distance between Kyuubi and himself. Though, if Kyuubi decided that it wanted to play around with Iruka, well…

He'd be out of here without breaking a sweat.

Iruka was about to gain his bearings and get into a proper combat stance, but Kyuubi wasn't having any of that. It simply charged in, smashing Iruka's chest with a head butt.

Ouch…that looked really nasty. Kyuubi's chakra was pretty powerful to put in so much power in a weak head but.

But anyways, he wanted Iruka to at least partially occupy Kyuubi's attention. Throw a damn smoke bomb or something, you pushover! Something, anything that would allow him to get away with that scroll. After that, Iruka could roll on the ground and sing for all he cared.

Iruka promptly threw in a smoke bomb, and tried to get away.

Is he lucky, or what?

Obviously, a mangled leg messed up whatever plan for escape Iruka might've made. Out of any combat situation for since Kami knows when, Iruka was rusty, and it was showing here.

Though, he had other things to do than worry about than Iruka's lack of recent combat experience.

Taking a circular route around the battlefield, Mizuki neared the place where the scroll lay.

He never reached that damn place.

A scream of terror reached his ears instead. A long, terrible, drawn-out cry of misery that made him stop and made his hair stand on end. It was clear that something was very, very, very wrong here. The cry was so plaintive, so full of desperation that even the unconcerned Mizuki had to take notice.

* * *

It was Iruka's end.

The brave never meet death but once. Unfortunately for Iruka, that one meeting was enough to take him through a world of pain and slam into him the ultimate reality: he was going to die, and the unenviable end didn't even come in the glory of taking his opponent down with him, or dying an Iruka's death.

It was more like a cat eating a mouse. Complete, utter domination of predator over prey, culminating, as it does more often than not, in a vicious, bloody end for the prey.

Iruka was dead, as immobile and cold as anyone dead ever was.

The Kyuubi, was of course, the killer. With a crazed, frenzied look, finding glory in the mad carnage around him. With an entire bloody fuckin' arm going right through Iruka's chest. Probably through chakra usage.

Kyuubi looked happy. That damn demon was reveling in the blood that had spurted out from Iruka.

And then he laughed.

A crazed, mad, haunting laugh that seemed to echo even when it didn't. Laced heavily with killing intent, it was enough to make anyone piss their pants.

Mizuki grabbed the scroll, and simply _**ran**_.

The laugh turned to a racking snort, mixed with pants from exertion.

And turned to a scream.

The candle flickered, and with a final flare, extinguished.

So did Kyuubi.

With a final flare of mind-numbingly terrifying chakra, Kyuubi collapsed.

It was not really anyone's fault. Everyone had some part in some of the mess. Orchestrated by Mizuki, of course.

Naruto was lead by his emotions. Never looking back to see what exactly was happening, he paid the price for mindlessly charging in. He was tricked by Mizuki, believed Iruka was against him, and succumbed to the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi recognized the situation was one its host couldn't handle. Deciding to take his own course of actions, it pumped Naruto's body with chakra when he was emotionally weak, increased his recklessness and destroyed his judgement. Reveling in madness, the Kyuubi augmented the disaster that could've happened.

Iruka jumped to decisions quickly. He was galvanized into making an incautious decision by his earlier opinion of Naruto, and the concern of the seal breaking, that was always present in his mind.

Hell, it was everyone's fault, then.

But was going to happen would happen.

One thing was for sure.

_Naruto was fucked._

_

* * *

_

_**Author's Notes: **Hola. After a long time, an update. Sorry for that. We start moving forward from the next chapter, Reverberations and all that. As always, reviews are very appreciated._


	3. Preview

**Eyes of Pain**

by ShinobiSam

**Premise:** What would've happened if Mizuki actually acted somewhat like the chunin he was? What changes would it cause? And where on earth do Kabuto, Tayuya, two Caged Bird Seals and Team 7 figure in all of this?

**Author's notes: **This one's just a bit of a preview, a foray into fanfiction writing after a nice, big gap. Nothing too plot-relevant in the preview, but the whole chapter promises to be more fulfilling. Any comments about the style of writing etc. would be appreciated.

* * *

Kabuto was a man of simple pleasures. Good food to eat. Comfortable lodgings to live in. Fresh corpses to study. New discoveries to make. New avenues to be explored.

However, the situation in front of him was stimulating his mind much more than usual. He had arrived after Iruka. He had seen what had happened. He had seen Iruka fall. He had seen Naruto Uzumaki lose control, and give in to his demon. However, the part he was fixated upon was the Fox. Bloody marvelous, that regeneration. Hit with a kunai? No problem. Ligaments, tendons, and whatnot mutilated? Back to normal in a jiffy. Add to that increased strength and chakra, and it was a heady mix.

Wonderful. That one bore some observation.

Unfortunately, he had other things to do now.

Orochimaru had sent one of his most trusted lieutenants to oversee Mizuki's efforts in obtaining the Forbidden Scroll. It was nothing much, more of an observation and reconnaissance mission. Obtain whatever information you can about the scroll, so as to ensure its successful extraction some time after Mizuki's betrayal and failure came to light.

It was somewhat surprising that the chunin had managed to succeed. Not all that bad, the plan.

However, something had to be said about the Fox's destructive and chaotic tendencies. A halfway decent plan had been sent to hell in a hand basket by the demon and that was while it was stuck in an uncoordinated moron of a ninja.

Putting on his gloves, Kabuto jumped down from the branch on which he had alighted. He carefully checked for any approaching ninja. He found nothing, but it was beyond foolish to believe this place would not be swarming with ninja in a bit. He wondered how best to deal with the situation. He wasn't going to do anything with Naruto and Iruka. The former would be dealt with later, and the latter was beyond all dealing. There was nothing to be done except for going on to Mizuki. Quickly deducing his direction from the trampled brambles and bushes, and the most probable way taken by Mizuki, Kabuto fingered one of his kunais, and prepared for whatever more that was going to go down on that day. Naruto's other teacher must've been tired by the battle, or become quite flustered, seeing as how he hadn't tried to use the Body Flicker to get some distance between him and the scene. Alternatively, maybe it was because he was afraid of one of the Hokage's sensors locating him from his chakra usage. Prudent man, that. If only he hadn't left even more obvious signs of his flight for all to see.

It didn't matter. Kabuto was faster than Mizuki. Barely half an hour after leaving the clearing, Kabuto had caught up with Mizuki. The man's chakra capacity was truly pitiful, he mused. Tired after this much of an effort? Maybe there was a reason why the man limited himself to teaching at the Academy. His aversion to exertion was apparent. Gulping in air with painful gasps, with his eyes streaming, Mizuki cut a pathetic figure. The man was so tired that he wasn't even concentrating properly, with Kabuto not being noticed until he was very close to the tree the chunin was hiding behind.

Quickly dodging some shuriken, Kabuto said, "Mizuki, there's no need to b-". Rudely interrupted by a kick to his shin, Kabuto grabbed Mizuki's leg, and prepared his Chakra Scalpel. Mizuki attempted a replacement, but Kabuto's unnoticed Earth Clone forced his hands apart before he could complete his jutsu, and forcefully held his arms apart. Letting go of Mizuki's leg, the medic raised his hands in a placating gesture. "You need to calm down before you get yourself harmed, Mizuki. Orochi-", was all Kabuto could say before his quarry attempted to free his arms with a painful-looking maneuver. Tiring of the constant resistance, Kabuto quickly let loose another Earth Clone, who grabbed his legs. A well-placed kick in the stomach, followed up with a kunai placed near his jugular quietened the man.

With a small smile, Kabuto exclaimed, "Your spirited nature is commendable, but I doubt your lord Orochimaru will be very pleased with you attacking one of his men who's only job is to see that you're taken to the Land of Sound successfully." The eyes glimmered with relief momentarily, before being replaced with an angry look, with the reply, "What the fuck're you talking about? Ally myself with Orochimaru? I'm a traitor, not suicidal!" With a look of consternation, Kabuto calmly spoke, "If you're not Orochimaru's man, why'd you pick up the only fruit basket at trader Nakagawa s shop which had a map of the HokageTower, Mizuki?"

He absolutely loathed having to deal with other agents in the field, particularly those so markedly inferior to him. He was a lone ranger through and through. The scholar in him was averse to dealing with people whose intellectual abilities left a lot to desire. Mizuki might kid himself, but he wasn't even a spoke in the wheel that was Orochimaru's espionage network.

He could plainly see Mizuki's continued suspicion. At least the man wasn't gullible. However, this simply wouldn't do.

"Listen up. I have neither the time nor the patience to satisfy you, be it wholly or nominally. I have already placed five shadow clones at various places, who will be acting as decoys to lead away some of the Hokage's forces. However, in no way does that mean you're out of danger. Cut through the forest, and try your best to remain undetected while you reach the valley leading to Karakura town. On the outskirts of the village, a quarter of a mile away from where the makeshift dykes start, you will find an abandoned hovel. Stay there for the night. One of the Sound Four will pick you up after nightfall. I'm sending a clone along with you, but he'll be transformed into a dog. Keep away from trouble", said Kabuto, and quickly handed him a scroll.

It was a copy of the scroll Mizuki had gotten in which he'd been told to obtain the Forbidden Scroll. It, having Orochimaru's personal seal, would definitely convince him. Quickly creating a shadow clone, Kabuto pushed the chunin up, and forced the scroll into his hands. While the fatigued chunin slung the scroll over his shoulder, Kabuto quickly did a Replacement, followed by a transformation into a dog. The original, thus, left with Mizuki, while the clone was left behind to take care of any remaining business.

The clone was to deal with some local loose ends, while the original would do the same with the more problematic ones, such as Mizuki. Quickly grabbing the actual Forbidden Scroll from where he had hidden it, a particularly useful hollow trunk, Kabuto went forth with some things to do, and not a lot of time to do them in.


End file.
